Hi. My Name Is NESter.

It was probably about two or three years ago now that I was visiting the online auction website, ebay. I wasn’t there by accident. I was there on a specific mission. I was looking for a specific item. I was looking for a piece of my childhood. I was looking for the Regular, 8-bit, Vintage, Grey and White with Red Lettering, Beautiful, Nintendo Entertainment System. Fondly remembered by me as the NES.

I was able to get an NES for about $40.00 including shipping. When it arrived in the mail, I felt complete for the first time in years. (Ok, I’m kidding about that.) But I was certainly excited to see that beautiful piece of 1980’s equipment hooked up to my Television Set.

Some of you might be wondering at this point: Is he actually going to blog about the Nintendo? My short answer to you: Yes I am. My long answer: There are still at least three other nintendo systems out there that I will eventually blog about as well. (Hey, it’s my blog… and I’m easily amused… especially by stuff from the 1980’s.) If you don't like Nintendo... come back later. If you do... you might like this trip down memory lane.)

Anyway… I have recently been thinking about the first couple of years that the Nintendo was out. There was nothing like it on the market. The first time I played Super Mario Bros, (at Tony Polito’s house) my little 9 year old mind could barely understand what I was seeing. I remember some of my friends would come to my school (Butterworth Elementary) with the fresh new magazine: Nintendo Power. I was so jealous. Nintendo Power had all the newest hints and codes… tips and tricks. Nintendo Power had everything in it that you needed to be a sucessful NES player.

Nintendo’s marketing was tremendous. I remember one particular Christmas when both Zelda 2 and Super Mario Bros. 2 were coming out. You could not find either of those games anywhere. Everybody wanted a copy. I remember visiting Toys R Us multiple times and being turned away because they still didn’t have either game in. It was crazy. Though, not always the best games… Nintendo did a great job getting games from the most popular movies of the times: Back to the Future, Star Wars, Batman, etc. As a kid, you wanted to get all of those games.

It’s funny, because certain things will always stick in your memory. For me, many of the tunes from Nintendo games are still in my head. I can still hum certain Zelda, Castlevania, Mario Bros, Kid Icarus, and Metroid tunes that I heard when I was a kid. Another thing that sticks in my memory: Secrets. I’ll never forget Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start… that gets you 30 guys in Contra. I’ll never forget where most of the free life mushrooms are in Super Mario Bros. I’ll never forget how to beat King Hippo on Mike Tyson’s Punchout. I’ll never forget what bushes to burn with the candle to get extra cash in Zelda. (No, I really DIDN'T have much to do when I was a kid.)

I will always have a special place in my heart for the beloved NES. On that note, here is my top 10 list for Nintendo games….

Honorable Mentions: Goonies 2, Kid Icarus, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Faxandu, Rygar, Mario Bros., Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, Wizards and Warriors, Willow, Robin Hood, Batman, Tecmo Football, Baseball Simulator 1.000… and many others:

#10: Dragon Warrior games: I loved the first one. For the first time, I am currently playing the second one. I hear that the third and fourth ones are awesome… but they are currently too expensive on ebay for me to try out.

#9: Gunsmoke: This game is so easy to beat… I don’t even know why I like it so much. But it doesn’t matter how many times I’ve beaten this game, I still love playing it.

#8 Super Dodge Ball: Great game. It’s pretty expensive on ebay now too. So I’m not the only one who likes it.

#7 Metal Gear: So many weapons, so little time. First game that really incorporated artificial intelligence. If an enemy saw you… they alerted others and started shooting. If they didn’t… well, let’s just say that it stinks to be them.

#6: Mega Man games: The concept of beating a boss and taking his weapon to use on all the other bosses is just too cool.

#5: Contra. I guess I like this game because it just so stinkin fun to play with another person. One of the best co-op games ever made.

#4: Castlvania. The first one is my favorite. I loved the music and graphics of this game. The bosses were cool too: Grim Reaper, Dracula, Medusa. Great game.

#3: Mike Tyson’s Punchout. What a fun game! Mike Tyson was so stinkin’ hard. King Hippo and the boob flexing Macho Man were cool too. And Glass Joe… who can forget that pathetic soul?

#2: The Legend of Zelda. No game came close to it’s scope and creativity for a long time. When I first played this game… it was completely different than anything I had seen before. I STILL love playing it. I love the title screen with the waterfall too!

#1: Final Fantasy. The definitive NES game. Compared to all the other games, this game was HUGE! Hundreds of different weapons, armors, magics, monsters… bosses. The storyline was wide open… you could pretty much do what you wanted to do in whatever order you wanted to do it in… which was so much different from other games in that day.

Here's a recent picture of Emily for those of you who are interested... 

Why I'm An Arminian

Theology Wars: Episode One: The Calvinist Menace
(Stolen shamelessly from George Lucas…)

I just finished reading an excellent book called Why I Am Not A Calvinist written by Jerry Walls and Joseph Dongell. I have decided to write a three part series helping me digest and download all the information found in the book. This book really helped me solidify a couple of things in my mind concerning the theology of Calvin. Before I get into the book, let me give you a small history sketch through the mind of Josh Howard. (Don’t worry, It will be a short trip)

I didn’t even realize there was a debate in the Christian community concerning issues of free will, predestination, etc… until after I had graduated from high school. I went on a trip to Florida… met a girl down there on the sandy shores of Cocoa Beach… and found out that she… 1) lived about a hour from where I lived in Moline, Illinois… and 2) was a Christian. (Weird story… I know)

Anyway… we talked a lot on the phone that summer. Her church was non-denominational, but strongly taught the Calvinist doctrine. I had no idea who Calvin was at that point… but when I heard the general points of his doctrine, it went against everything that I thought I knew about God, Jesus, and my faith. The girl eventually faded into the distance… but my shock remained. I just couldn’t come to grips with the fact that her denomination was reading the same Bible that I was reading.

Just in case some of you are in the same boat that I was in, (having no idea what the teachings of Calvin are) allow me to give you a quick (though, not adequate) overview: In college, I was taught to remember his five basic teachings with the word TULIP.

T= Total Depravity – Humanity is so ‘sin-soaked’ in all parts of their lives… they could never choose God in their own power.

U= Unconditional Election – God has chosen to elect some sinners to be saved, the rest will pay the price for their sins. It’s unconditional in that God chooses who will be saved regardless of his knowledge of what they will believe and how they will obey.

L= Limited Atonement – Since God has chosen who will be saved, Jesus only died on the cross for those people, rather than for all people.

I= Irresistible Grace – If God has chosen to save Josh Howard… it is impossible for Josh Howard to reject God’s grace. His grace is entirely irresistible.

P= Perseverance of the Saints – God will sustain his ‘elect’ for all eternity. One of His elect will never ‘fall away’ from their faith. Another couple of ‘nicknames’ for this: ‘Once saved, always saved’ and ‘Eternal security.’

The issue interested me enough to purchase this book on the recommendation of a few people that found it helpful and beneficial. Because there is so much in the book that I could ‘blog’ about… I decided to make a top seven list. Over the course of my three part series, I will share the seven big ideas that helped solidify my Arminian thoughts. (Or maybe a better way to say it: Here are seven thoughts that helped me decide that Calvinism is pretty close to heresy.) Heh heh. Nothing like a strong statement to get your attention. I’ll conclude this particular article with the first idea:

1) Assurance: In the last chapter of the book, the authors explore how the Calvinist theology plays out in real life faith and ministry. Calvinists have been known to accuse Arminians of not having a secure faith: Because Arminians believe that you can ‘lose your salvation’ with enough back-sliding… Calvinists say that our assurance is very weak. (They ask: How much backsliding is too much backsliding? How do you Arminians know when you’ve fallen out of God’s grace?) They also suggest that we will have a propensity towards legalism because we will always be wondering if we are in right standing with God. (Ex: Have I done enough?)

While it’s true that Arminians (especially those in the holiness tradition) have occasionally made the mistake of falling into legalism… Calvinists seem to overlook that their theological system offers even LESS assurance. For example, allow me to share a passage from Walls and Dongell:

“Calvinism deprives those struggling with their faith of the single most important resource available: the confidence that God loves all of us with every kind of love we need to enable and encourage our eternal flourishing and well-being.”

A thought struck me while reading this: How do ANY Christian Calvinists truly know that they are saved? If God has only chosen specific recipients of His grace, how can they be one hundred percent sure of their OWN election? According to their own theological system, they believe that God chooses His ‘elect’ UNCONDITIONALLY. So, even if they know the Bible… even if they go to church…even if they say they believe Jesus as their savior… even if they decide to go into full-time ministry… God used NONE of those things to decide who to elect! How do any of them really know? Truth is, their theological system doesn’t allow for them to really know whether they have been elected by God or not!

All this has certainly made me value my Arminian thinking much more. According to my theological system, how do I know that I am saved? When I confess my sins (I John 1:9)… when, in faith, I call on Jesus to forgive and remove my sin (Ephesians 1:7)… when I ask Jesus to mediate, in my behalf, to God the Father (II Timothy 2:5-6)… when I chase after and obey His will. It’s that simple. I’ll take my ‘small lack of assurance’ over their ‘total void of assurance’ any day of the week!



Coming in two weeks to a blog near you:

Theology Wars: Episode Two: Attack of the Arminians

This Space for 'Rent'eria

I have a confession to make: I used to watch professional wrestling on a regular basis. I loved it. (Don’t worry, this article won’t be about professional wrestling). One of the wrestlers that I used to watch was nicknamed: The Million Dollar Man. His famous line was that ‘everybody…. and I mean EVERYBODY has a price.’

Being a St. Louis Cardinal fan, (finally, you get a hint that this will be about baseball) I have grown to believe that the Million Dollar Man’s famous statement was false. In the past seven or eight years, this Cardinal organization has traded to get great players and then they have been able to sign them for below market value because the player loved the organization and city so much. Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, and even Albert Pujols (to a certain extent) signed below market deals to stay in St. Louis.

I was fooled into thinking that this offseason would be more of the same… but the string of happy players seems to have been broken. I’m not talking about Tony Womack or Mike Matheny: Both had (in my mind, at least) legitimate reasons for leaving. I would like to take issue with Mr. Edgar Renteria.

It’s been said that Renteria was nicknamed ‘the captain’ by many of the other players in the clubhouse. He won a gold glove and a silver slugger award in St. Louis. In the six seasons that he played as a Cardinal… he went to the playoffs four of those seasons. I know for certain that the fans loved him. The organization might have made a few mistakes in dealing with Renteria… but more often then not, the Cardinals were very generous with him.

At the beginning of the offseason, the Cardinals front office made it clear that their first priority of the winter would be to sign Mr. Renteria. Everytime we turned around, the Cardinals were talking about Edgar Renteria… about how it was vital to get this player signed… about how important he was to the club… over and over… Sign Edgar and sign him NOW.

So, I’m assuming (that’s dangerous, I know) that Edgar knew that he was well-liked in the clubhouse, much sought after by the organization, and adored around the city. I assume he was somewhat comfortable because he had tremendous success both offensively and defensively. I assume that he is smart enough to know that making the playoffs four times out of six years is somewhat difficult to do when you aren’t playing for the Braves or the Yankees. So, the remaining issue must have been money. Right? That is the only thing I can think of.

If that is the case, why would Mr. Edgar say stupid things like: “Boston pursued me more. Boston made me feel wanted. Boston is a franchise full of history and tradition. Boston is a winning organization.” Why not just come out and say: “Boston offered me more money, so I’m going there…” I mean, we already know that Boston AND St. Louis heavily pursued Edgar. We know that the Cardinal organization put everything else on hold this offseason to sign Edgar. We all know that St. Louis is a franchise with as much or more history than the Boston Red Sox. (Unless you want to blame the Cards for not wanting to play in the same stadium that they played in eighty years ago.) We all know that the Cards had a BETTER winning percentage last year than Boston did and even accomplished something that Boston could not do: The Cards actually won their division. So, let’s cut to the chase instead of making up excuses: Boston offered more money and Edgar found that to be the most important thing.

Look, I don’t want to give anybody the impression that I blame him for taking the money. That is not the issue that concerns me. The issue is this: Why can’t ballplayers just be honest and say: “I went to this organization because I wanted to take more money.” Why do they have to feed us with a load o’ manure?

I also take issue with Edgar for something else. Local media has reported that the Cardinals’ final offer ended up being only a million dollars off of Boston’s final offer. The difference was that the deal was backloaded. Edgar Renteria left a perfect situation over one million dollars. And for someone that would have gotten paid close to six million next year and 39 million over the next several years… that just doesn’t seem to jive with common sense.

When it comes right down to it, I think Edgar Renteria left because his agent told him to leave. Agents get a certain percentage of their client’s salary. I think Edgar’s agent put pressure on him to take the high paying job so that the Agent would get more money NOW as opposed to later. Edgar Renteria probably left St. Louis because of what someone else told him to think… and not what HE thought.

You know what? Good riddance. Edgar Renteria… You aren’t worth ten million a year, anyway. Good luck in Boston. Hope their fans are as forgiving and adoring as our fans were. Hope Fenway Park holds up. Hope you don’t get tired of losing to the Yankees. Hope Boston doesn’t go another 80 some years without winning a World Series. Hope you don’t get ‘booed’ when you come back to St. Louis in July. (Actually, I take that back… I hope you do.)

Who Am I?

Back in December, Melissa and I attended a concert in downtown St. Louis. There were three performers/bands there: Steven Curtis Chapman, Chris Tomlin, and Casting Crowns. Going in, I was really excited about the first two and I really didn’t know anything about Casting Crowns.

I’m not sure if any of you have experienced this, but sometimes God will completely take me by surprise. It doesn’t happen to me very often, but every now and again, his Spirit will move in my heart in a very unexpected way. On this particular night, when Casting Crowns took the stage and begun plugging through their set of six or seven songs, God took me by surprise.

They got to a particular song in their set that I had never heard before and it immediately brought tears to my eyes. The song, called ‘Who Am I?’, brilliantly captured in word and in music what I have felt about God for many years now. Why would the soveriegn Creator God want to have anything to do with me? I would have to be one of His least impressive creations. Next to the incredibly vast mountain ranges and oceans… I am like a grain of sand. Next to the stars or a sunrise… I am ugly. Even next to other human beings… I am unimpressive, average, mediocre, and timid…

Sometimes life gets so busy and I get so preoccupied with detail type things… I lose sight of the bigger truths. And so often, it’s the bigger truths that I NEED to be focused on in order to be a successful pastor, father, or husband… and it’s those bigger truths that would encourage me to continue working hard despite discouragement. God graciously reminded me of something on this December night that I really needed to recall:

He loves me. He always has. He always will. His love for me isn’t based on what I’ve done for him. He will love me regardless of church statistics and public opinion. He will love me regardless of how much I weigh or of how selfish I can be…. He will even love me regardless of whether I choose to love Him back. The one lyric that spoke to me the most on this particular night was this one:

"Not because of who I am… but because of what You’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done… but because of who You are."

What an amazing truth! God almighty loves me… inperfections and all. He wants me to know Him, even though I could never hope to understand Him completely. He wants to be in a love relationship with me, even though He knows that I will sometimes make decisions that betray His love or take advantage of His love. He loves me, despite what I can offer Him. He loves ME. HE loves me. I’m thankful for the reminder.


Here are the lyrics to the song: ‘Who Am I?” by the band Casting Crowns. I hope they speak to you as much as they spoke to me.

“Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You Are!

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am YoursI am Yours”